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Water-well outage and aging electrical equipment prompt near-term repair planning at county facilities
Summary
County facilities staff reported a temporary outage at Well House 3 after utility work severed wiring and said contractor and county crews restored manual operation while ordering repairs; they also flagged a likely $36,000 breaker replacement at the nursing home and a possible $50,000 total expense with a temporary generator.
Facilities staff told commissioners that Eversource’s pole work at the county solar field earlier in the week snagged the wiring between Well House 2 and Well House 3, leaving Well 3 temporarily offline and forcing manual operation.
"It was a temporary catastrophe, but it looks like we're gonna be fine," a facilities official said, adding that Harvey Construction staff responded immediately, brought an electrical contractor, and ordered wire to restore automatic operation.
Facilities staff also reported initial pricing to repair a 50-year-old breaker at the nursing home of about $36,000, with a full repair including a temporary generator likely approaching $50,000. The staff member said the switchboard and breakers have not been exercised regularly and that a new NFPA update is increasing inspection and exercise requirements; the county will seek final pricing and may pursue delegation contingency funds to cover unbudgeted repairs.
In the long-term care update, nursing-home leadership said the nursing home (32 beds) and assisted living (48 beds) remained in outbreak status with two residents testing positive for COVID-19; staff reported no positive staff cases and one staff influenza case. The nursing home planned a mock survey at month-end to prepare for a formal survey and said it is exploring an internal psychiatry partnership to reduce transports and improve care.
Commissioners thanked facilities and Harvey Construction staff for the rapid response to the well outage and directed staff to continue cost-tracking and to seek contingency funding paths as needed.
No formal expenditure or transfer specific to these repairs was approved at the meeting; staff indicated they would return with further pricing and recommendations.
